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People often ask me how I created the buildings in my RCT parks. Instead of creating a step-by-step tutorial, I am going to use this page to provide some tips and techniques.

Play the career mode

It surprised me the number of people who play this game that have never even tried playing the career mode. In the in-built scenarios, you can see exactly how the game's developers intended each scenery piece to be used. It may give you some more ideas.

Go through the in-game tutorials

Even experienced players can benefit from those tutorials, this game contains many hidden features that you may not be aware of.

Don't be afraid to mix different scenery types

The park inspector may send messages to the console such as "Ride Or Item X does not fit in with the scenery" If you are designing a park and you think it looks good, then just ignore those messages. Many of the buildings I have created use pieces from many of the games built-in themes. For example the glass roof in Steven's Indoor Pool 6 consists of glass walls from the generic set, and glass roofs from the sci-fi sets.
 

Try to build at least one "Ugly" building

This tip may sound strange, because it is! But you would be surprised how effective and helpful this can be. Perhaps there is a building in your town that you don't like? Try re-producing it in the game, this results in a win-win situation. Either you will create a building that you don't like, which will help you to understand what not to do, or more likely you will finish your building, take a look at think "You know, that is not too bad actually!"
Deliberately creating a building that you think you will hate will encourage you to use building techniques that you think will not work, and you may discover otherwise. Remember to make it realistic.
I have yet to see an ugly building in RCT3, and it is not through lack of trying! I have discovered many new building-techniques this way.
Seriously, I suggest you try it.

Copy elements from real buildings

They say the best stuff comes from real life, the same is true of buildings. Every day I see and visit many buildings, it is always worth looking around, and perhaps taking a few photos. 
 
Many of the buildings you see in my parks have elements inspired by real life buildings.
 

Inspiration From Real Buildings

 
I have a gallery of elements that I have taken from real buildings here.

Don't let anybody tell you that it can't be done

If anybody tries to tell you that something can't be done, think of that as a challenge. All that really means is that nobody has found a way to do it... yet!

Wheelchair Access

Some of you may have noticed that in my later projects, every part of every park is fully wheelchair accessible.
Every area of the park is accessible using ramps, or lifts. Even though the game does not have wheelchair users in it, I find that these disabled access features add some realism to the park.

Be Creative with the lifts

The lifts (Elevators) in the game are more than a way to transport people vertically, they can also be used to enhance the appearance of a building.
 

 

This office building has a restaurant on the top floor. the lifts not only transport the peeps to the restaurant, but also add features to the building.

Go easy on the glass

I have seen a lot of RCT buildings online that consist of nothing more than an attraction contained within a big glass box. It is easy to forget that in real life, buildings like that would not be strong enough to remain standing. There should be some walls and supports to make the building look more realistic. I like to place my glass walls in "window sills" to give this effect.
 

 

As you can see, each glass window is surrounded by something stronger, in this case, slate. You may also notice that there are steel supports inside to hold the roof in place.

Remember the lighting

One of the new features that RCT3 introduced was night-mode. When building, it is sometimes easy to forget about this. Remember to put lights throughout your building. If you notice any of the lights flickering, it is because you have too many lights close together.
 

Buildings Need Supports

I have seen many buildings with giant roofs, with nothing to hold them up. Although supports are not actually needed, they do make your buildings look a lot more realistic. The "Wall Girders" from the "Coloured Wall Set" make great supports.

 

 

If used correctly, they can enhance any building.

 

 

 

You can even use them to build towers!

 

 

Remember that the Wall Girders are not the only scenery pieces that can be used as supports, many of the walls can be used to create pillars as well.

Use Water to your advantage

The water effects in RCT3 are really useful. Reflective water can really enhance the appearance of a building. Why not try building reflecting pools near your buildings, or surrounding some of them with water.
 

Experiment

The only way you are going to know if something is going to work or not is to try it. Remember that you can always change it if it does not work out!

Don't be afraid to delete things and start again

Quite often I will start to build something, and suddenly get a flash of inspiration on how it could be better. My advice here is to save what you are creating, and try your new idea. If it does not work, you can always re-load the old one.

Remember the groundwork

The ground texture surrounding a building can be as important as the building it's self. The ground surrounding a building should be realistic. For instance, houses may have have grass in their gardens and factories may have muddy grass around them. What it looks like is up to you.
 

Have Fun

This is one of the most important tips of all. Remember that this is just a game, and the whole point of playing is to have fun.
 
 
     

 

 
 

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Any information on this site is used entirely at your own risk.
I do not take responsibility for the consequences of any advice given on this site.